What is classical homeopathy?

“Homeopathy is one of the systems of traditional (holistic) medicine that should be integrated worldwide with conventional medicine in order to provide adequate global health care.”

—The World Health Organization

Classical homeopathy is very different in approach from most conventional medical care systems. Normally, we visit a medical doctor for a specific disease, problem or group of symptoms. A medicine is prescribed to remove the symptoms. However, from the holistic medical point of view, symptoms are there for a reason and if the reason remains, the problem will return, either in the same form or as a different disease or set of symptoms.

You may have had experiences where, despite conventional treatment, symptoms return again and again. At other times symptoms seem to disappear after treatment, but not long afterwards new symptoms arise to take their place. The reason for this is that the core problem wasn’t dealt with. This is called suppression. Homeopathy has a clear understanding of the difference between suppression and true cure. With cure, the root of the problem is dealt with first, and as a result the symptoms are no longer needed and so, fade away.

In most cases homeopaths look at everything that is going on in the patient’s life, not just the few symptoms in isolation. The same patient that comes in complaining of headaches may also have depression, insecurities, low energy and a long list of other problems. All of these stem from the same root cause and by dealing with the cause, all of the problems will fade away. Homeopathic care goes is much more thorough than most other types of treatment. Changes in life long problems, both physical and emotional are reported.

During an initial consultation all of the patient’s symptoms will be explored. This important and intensive session will require up to three hours. Then, a single homeopathic remedy matching the whole picture is chosen. A course of Tissues Salts and Bach Essences may accompany the treatment. Homeopathic treatment is not a diet program or an ongoing regimen of vitamin, mineral, herbal or other supplements (although under other professional care, some of these may be warranted).

In classical homeopathy, a single remedy is given at a time and then allowed to work for a period of time, with a follow-up conducted 4-6 weeks after the initial remedy is administered. Homeopathy recognizes the importance of intervening as little as possible. We respect the body’s intelligence in the production of symptoms, reasoning that it does so for good reasons. So, rather than giving a medicine that ignores the intelligence of the body, homeopaths choose the homeopathic remedy that can best strengthen the body’s defenses and allow healing to occur naturally. After the correct homeopathic remedy, most patients experience a greater sense of well-being and happiness.

Homeopathy has experienced resurgence in North America over the past 30 years, as more people have learned of its high success rate in helping those seeking a proven alternative or a complement to conventional medicine. Homeopathy is common and accepted in England, France, Switzerland, Germany, India and many other countries.

Homeopathy is often extremely effective with people who have chronic diseases. This includes long-term physical or emotional problems, as well as illnesses that return time and time again. Whether conventional medicine considers the condition curable is not a factor in determining whether homeopathy can help. Homeopathy is also appropriate for those with general health problems, even though conventional medicine has not yet “diagnosed” a disease as the cause.

An important underlying difference exists between conventional medical therapy and homeopathy. In conventional therapy, the aim often is to control and suppress the illness through the regular use of drugs. If the medication is withdrawn, however, the person returns to illness—there has been no cure. For example, someone who takes a pill every day for chronic pain, insomnia or depression is not undergoing a cure but is only controlling the symptoms.

Homeopathy’s aim is to cure. Homeopathy’s founder Dr. Samuel Hahnemann said it succinctly: “the complete restoration of perfect health.”

Homeopathic remedies are chosen based upon the “Law of Similars”. The underlying principles have been systematically proven throughout two centuries of practice and validated by more than 200 scientific studies, which meet modern criteria for acceptability. (For an example of a significant and comprehensive review of homeopathic research, see “ Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials” published in The Lancet on 20 September 1997.)

The Law of Similars states that a medicine which produces a set of symptoms in a healthy person will cure the same set of symptoms in a sick person. Each homeopathic remedy has been carefully tested on large numbers of healthy people to discover what symptoms are produced, and thus we also know what symptoms it is capable of curing. We are not matching single symptoms but the whole pattern of symptoms: the gestalt.

Homeopathic remedies are derived from natural sources such as plants, minerals, and other natural substances. They are prepared by a special process of step-by-step dilution and succussion (shaking) under strict pharmacy conditions. This makes the remedy capable of stimulating the body’s own defense system and affecting your health in a much deeper way than it could without this process.

“"The healing force on which all our therapeutic work is ultimately based on seeking to move through us and reconnect us to the whole. This force can gradually nudge us toward to point of comprehending the greatest paradox of all: By fully integrated into the whole, we are most completely empowered to be totally unique. As we grasp this mystery, then we are healed. That may, in fact, be the simplest formulation of what true healing is all about." ”

—Rudolph Ballentine, MD